Public Defender’s Office celebrates 10 years of BMAGIC

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BMAGIC, a program started by the Public Defender's Office 10 years ago, helps thousands of kids attend book fairs where they are provided free books.

The San Francisco Public Defender's Office is celebrating the 10-year anniversary Friday of a program they founded to help address the root problems of juvenile crime.

The Bayview Hunters Point Mobilization for Adolescent Growth in Our Community, or BMAGIC, was created with the intention of intervening in youth crime before it begins, spokeswoman Tamara Barak Aparton said in a statement.

The program addresses issues such as poverty, education and lack of summer programming and has been an advocate for families in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhoods.

The program has been responsible for handing out more than 32,000 backpacks stuffed with school supplies for students in grades K-12. It also has provided 900 teens with formal winter dances, granted access to 4,325 kids to the Literacy is Freedom book fair, which provides free books and reading events, and more.

BMAGIC will be celebrating its anniversary at All Good Pizza at 1605 Jerrold Ave. from 6 to 9 p.m., Aparton said. Admission to the event is $10, which includes two drink tickets. Public Defender Jeff Adachi will be on hand, as well as state Sen. Mark Leno and representatives from the offices of Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Assemblyman Phil Ting, and BMAGIC executive director Lyslynn Lacoste, as well as those families and youth who have benefited from the program.